Education Commons^™

Perspectives On Malaga Island: From Scorn To Shame To Sympathy, Darcie Drew

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Malaga Island off the Maine coast was a home to a small interracial fishing community from 1860 to 1912, at which point the State of Maine evicted the residents. Several islanders were subsequently at Pineland School; the rest were left to rebuild their lives elsewhere. Local and national perspectives of the state’s action and those of the islanders themselves have changed substantially from the time of settlement to today. I researched these perspectives in order to create a week-long unit for a 7th grade Social Studies class here in Portland. My investigation included various primary sources: photographs of the original …

The Incidence And Impact Of Workplace Incivility: A Quantitative Study Comparing Public University Staff Member Experiences In The Northeast, Tracy St. Pierre

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Workplace Incivility (WI) is a construct similar to sexual harassment or bullying - it is unwanted behavior and can cause negative emotions for those who experience it. However, it lacks a clear definition or legal repercussions that have been established for sexual harassment and bullying. Thus, incivility is able to thrive in the workplace with little intervention and can create adverse consequences for employees and the organization. Several studies demonstrate that up to 96% of employees have experienced WI (Porath & Pearson, 2010, p.64). Employees who experience WI reduce their work effort and decrease productivity by “venting” to co-workers (Cortina …

The “Evil Eye” And Other Prescriptive Classroom Management Practices, Hannah Luken

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Teachers often struggle with classroom discipline and management, and school psychologists are well positioned to offer guidance to them. To fulfill this consultative role, school psychologists must know the classroom management strategies taught in teacher training, and later implemented in the classroom. Current classroom discipline and management textbooks provide insight into current classroom management practices taught to teachers. Traditional classroom management practices involve consequences to reduce interfering behaviors based on the form of the student’s behavior. For example, if a student is talking to a peer without permission, a common strategy is to send a nonverbal signal like the “evil …

Cognitive Assessment Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Students:Evidence For Current Practices, Aaron Pomeranz, Hannah Luken

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Evidence from placement data show that culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students are over-identified for learning and intellectual disabilities (Donovan & Cross, 2002). Cognitive assessments play a central role in correctly identifying CLD students for special education services. This study reviewed the literature to determine support for three methods of cognitive assessment with CLD students. Search results revealed that although there was considerable research supporting the use of the Cultural-Linguistic Interpretive Matrix (C-LIM) and Nonverbal Assessment, there was also much research disputing their use. Much of the support the C-LIM and Dual Language Assessment was not from peer reviewed research. …

Social And Emotional Learning In Portland Public High Schools, Makenzie Thompson

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) can be defined as, “the capacity to recognize and manage emotions, solve problems effectively, and establish positive relationships with others; competencies that clearly are essential for all students. Thus, SEL targets a combination of behaviors, cognitions, and emotions to better students in school and prepare them for the world after”(Zins et al., 2003,p.1). Emerging evidence suggests that schoolwide and teacher-focused interventions involving a social and emotional learning framework are among the most effective approaches for improving student behavioral outcomes and student success in school (Anyon, et al., 2016). The aim of this study was to …

Occupational Therapy Led Handwriting Programs In General Education, Angela Hamel, Collin Skilling

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

PIO: Does integrating occupational therapy led handwriting programs into a classroom’s curriculum improve overall handwriting in all children?

One School, One Family: Portland High School Climate In The Age Of Trump, Naomi Abrams Hawkes

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The 2016 U.S. presidential election led to one of the most contentious seasons in American politics. Citing the inflammatory rhetoric of public figures, a growing body of literature documents a dramatic increase in bias-­‐related bullying and feelings of anxiety in K-12 schools across the country since the 2016 election. Using student and faculty interviews/focus groups, secondary data analysis, and direct observations, this case study offers a comprehensive examination of the effects of the substance and tone of the current sociopolitical climate on students at Portland High School. Data was analyzed and suggestions made for administration to help create a more …

Telling Room: Color In Action, Ryan Poag, Meaghan Gonsior

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The Telling Room is a nonprofit writing center in Portland that helps young writers ages 6 to 18 build confidence, strengthen literacy skills, and provide real opportunities for students to display their creativity for audiences. Every year they approach creative writing through a unique theme to help keep young writers engaged. Their anthology’s theme this year is COLORS. Colors can symbolize and illustrate various aspects of life including human emotion, energy levels, and cultural phenomena. Using the connection between color and creativity, we have embarked on a project to produce a series of six short videos based on the colors …

Empowering Metacognition In The Writing Center, Katelyn Parsons, Deanna Richards, Garrett Erb, Jake Angelico, Vic Schalk

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Anxiety about writing often impedes students from writing. This “writing paralysis” is often seen at the Writing Center. In order to become better writers, writers need to reflect, ask questions, and practice writing. These strategies enable the development of a metacognitive process that empowers student writers to understand why certain rhetorical conventions are chosen over others. The Writing Center encourages metacognition by facilitating writing strategies with student writers. This project explores how the Writing Center’s work assists the process of metacognition by asking questions about student writing processes and drawing on students’ knowledge of different genres and intended audiences. We …

Community Driven Student Leadership: The Doce Approach, Courtney Caouette, Jordan O'Hearn, Stacy Henson-Drake, Michaela Stone, Gabrielle Lodge

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Universities and the communities in which they reside must maintain an interdependence to thrive. The USM LAC Druker Office of Community Engagement (DOCE) follows a unique model of student-faculty collaborative leadership to model how public universities can partner with their communities. Developing long-lasting community-university relationships holds mutual benefits. DOCE connects students, faculty and staff with over 90 community partners. As a synergetic cooperative team, we believe community engagement is essential in the growth and learning of the whole student, faculty and staff of USM.

Our recent Community-Based Participatory Research (CPBR) works in integrating the classes and curriculum of the Social …

The Student Experience Of Sexual Education In Maine Public Schools, Grace Nevins, Michael Johnston

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The modern sexual climate of the Unites States often contradicts the moral values taught to young people in sexual education classes in the public school system. Studies have shown that the traditional “abstinence only” method, which was made popular during the 1990’s, was ineffective in the prevention of young pregnancy and the reduction in sexually transmitted diseases (Schwarz, 2007). Teenagers are increasingly exposed to more sexualized content through a variety of media; however, this often contradicts the messages they receive in schools, particularly the “abstinence only” educational model.

Assessing Readability Of Spanish And English Caregiver Forms Of Norm-Referenced Adaptive Behavior Rating Scales, Sarah Tremblay

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The purpose of this study was to determine the readability of parent forms of adaptive behavior rating scales in Spanish and in English.

Cultivating Awareness Of Identities And Ideologies In Academic Writing, Josh Gauthier, Trish Hodgkins, Katelyn Parsons, April Tarmey, Vic Schalk

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

We set out to explore the level to which faculty consider and explicitly discuss writing as an apprenticeship into an ideology. Due to our interactions with both students and faculty, the Writing Center is ideally situated to bring awareness of writing ideologies to the entire university campus. Additionally, the Writing Center can and should also engage in dialogue with students about the roles of identity and ideology in writing thereby enabling them to :

• approach the writing process with awareness and intention,

• be more conscious of the ideologies of their context, and

• accept or challenge those ideologies …

An Outdoor Classroom To Improve The Student Experience And Connect The Community, Chelsea Malacara

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

An opportunity to learn outdoors unites students to their surroundings and closes the gap between human and nature. Outdoor spaces contribute to ecological literacy and are critical to a well-rounded education. The University of Southern Maine community places emphasis on environmental stewardship through classroom instruction and campus projects. The Gorham campus has 9 acres of wooded area plus unused greenspace. I am proposing the construction of an outdoor classroom. The proposal will include interviews from various stakeholders, a site assessment, and a digital and 3D model of the outdoor classroom that will be created per the Site Planning and Design …

A Qualitative Study Of English Language Learners In The Portland Public Schools, Victoria A. Hynes

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The purpose of this research is to identify the demographic characteristics of English Language Learner (ELL) students who successfully complete secondary education in the Portland Public Schools. The first phase of this project involves identifying ELL educators and staff to participate in interviews about this demographic and the curriculum used. This information is analyzed using Qualitative Data Analysis(QDA) to determine if there are any similar concepts or themes in the information gathered. The school and home environment and prior education experience were examined. Additionally, protective factors in the school or community were explored to see these factors made on the …